This committee is composed of the Ministers of Interior, Economy and Finance, Agriculture, Maritime Fishing, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Industry and Trade and Energy Transition and Sustainable Development.
This meeting was devoted to examine ways to implement the various measures necessary in order to meet the needs of the national market and ensure a sufficient and regular stock of all commodities, in addition to measures to ensure consumer safety, preserve its purchasing power and fight against various illegal practices.
It is true that “prices can only be changed by the game of supply and demand,” as stated by the President of the Competition Council, Ahmed Rahhou, but there are practices used by speculators and brokers leading to price increases in some products, which requires constant vigilance and mobilization to address, especially in the run-up to the holy month of Ramadan, which is experiencing an increase in demand for consumer goods in general.
During this meeting, emphasis was placed on the need to intensify the work of control committees in all regions, prefectures and provinces and prefectures of districts of the Kingdom under the effective supervision of walis and governors to ensure regular monitoring of the various production chains, marketing and market situation, address any malfunctions identified at the local level, ensure transparency of commercial transactions, deal with all suspicious practices and take the necessary sanctions in case of violation of the laws in force.
Focus was also put on the need to strengthen the process of continuous monitoring on the ground, the most effective way to support the citizens’ purchasing power, maintain price stability, ensure a regular markets supply, address with the necessary rigor and firmness any form of speculation, of monopoly and various illegal practices that would disrupt the proper functioning of markets and harm the health, safety of the citizen and his purchasing power, in addition to applying the necessary sanctions in case of proven violation of laws in force in the field of prices, commercial transactions and consumer protection.
The Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch had called, at the opening of the Government Council, to increase the control of the state of the food markets supply in the Kingdom, to strengthen the monitoring of distribution and quality and to track down and punish the perpetrators of any violation or any opportunistic behavior.
During the meeting, measures were taken to ensure the priority of supplying the domestic market with agricultural products in sufficient quantities before resorting to export channels, which will have a positive impact on stability.
This procedure reinforces other preventive measures taken by the government departments concerned that would help stabilize food prices in the days and weeks to come, such as the continuation of the subsidy of transport prices, the cancellation of the value added tax and the cessation of the collection of customs duties on the import of cattle for slaughter, allowing the import of nearly 30,000 heads, thus contributing to lower retail prices of meat.
The Minister of Economy and Finance had indicated, in a statement to the press after the meeting, that the prices of meat and vegetables should fall in the coming days or weeks, thanks to “important” measures taken by the government to reduce price increases and ensure the markets supply.
This meeting was an opportunity for the ministers concerned to discuss some data on the production chains of many agricultural products and reassure about the positive impact expected in the coming days or weeks, some preventive measures taken.
The production of vegetables and tomatoes this year has reached a good level and the recent increase in tomato prices is attributed to the cold snap that the Kingdom is currently experiencing.
It is expected that tomato prices will decline in the coming weeks with the return of milder temperatures, which will contribute to the maturity of national crops and their availability on the markets.
The operationality of establishing new agricultural cycles, including onions and potatoes, will strengthen their availability on the market to meet the needs of consumers and therefore impact their price.
The recent rains and snowfall recorded in several regions of the Kingdom, as well as those expected in the coming days, will, in turn, improve the plant cover and a return to normal national production.
